Mobile gamers in India have reportedly shifted to ‘Call of Duty Mobile‘ and ‘Garena Free Fire‘ following the ban on PUBG Mobile. That’s according to a new report from CyberMedia Research, while claims that the former is now the go-to battle royale fix for 67% PUBG Mobile players in the country, while 54% of them also try out their hand at the latter. The findings are in line with an earlier report that claimed CoD: Mobile and Garena downloads spiked in India following the PUBG Mobile ban in the country.
Called ‘The Next-gen Mobile Consumer’, the report also suggests that Fortnite (36%) and Battlelands Royale (34%) are the two other games that PUBG Mobile players in the country seem to prefer. Overall, mobile gaming in India is on the upswing, driven by people staying at home during the pandemic-induced lockdown. Interestingly, 15% of the gamers switched to paid mobile gaming apps during lockdown, with three out of every five gamers claiming that mobile gaming enabled them to overcome social isolation during the period.
On an average, Indians have seven games installed on their smartphones, including at least four that they play regularly. Most respondents said they prefer action / adventure games (71%) followed by first-person shooter games (63%). Women reportedly play 3 games on a regular basis. Overall, Call of Duty Mobile and Garena Free Fire are now most popular first-person shooter games in the country, with folks admitting to spending around seven hours a week on mobile gaming.
The CMR report is based on a survey conducted across eight cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. The study covered 1124 mobile gamers in the age groups of 16 to 35 and, has a statistical precision of ±3%. You can check out the detailed report on the official CyberMedia website.